a LEADING academic has warned young people may never join the labour market on the terms their parents did and predicted part-time and zero-hours contracts may now be a permanent feature of the employment landscape.

The extent of such "precarious work" is not even known, according to Professor Andy Furlong, of Glasgow University, who will present a paper on his work in Italy this week.

He says Scottish Government claims about marginally better rates disguise a lack of research on patterns of underemployment and insecure working. "It is acknow­ledged that statistics collected at present are far from adequate and almost certainly underestimate precarious forms of working," said Professor Furlong.

His paper argues there is evidence the conditions faced by young people are not temporary but reveal "emerging contours of the post-recession economy".

He believes the trend towards non-standard forms of working, such as zero-hours contracts, predates the recession and shows future growth in the labour market will occur in those sectors.

He also argues employers will resist any pressure to abandon a highly profitable employment model that provides them with great flexibility and helps them sidestep traditional worker rights.

"The statistics are frightening when you look across Western Europe," he said. "Spain has one of the most educated youth populations in Europe and so it is not a question of supply - but one of demand.

"It is doubtful the issues facing young people in Europe will be better for the next generation following this one and so the outlook is bleak for the foreseeable future."

In Spain youth unemployment stands at 55.7%, in Greece 58.4%, in Italy 37.8%. In the north of Europe youth unemployment in the UK is 21.1% and in Sweden 24.5%.

The Scottish Government says that in Angela Constance they have Europe's only dedicated Minister For Youth Employment and this week will see a series of job announcements as part of Make Young People Your Business Week.

Ms Constance said: "We have made significant progress in supporting more young people into jobs in the past 18 months, through a range of policies taken forward by the Scottish Government and its partners.

"We need to take employers with us if we are to truly harness the skills and enthusiasm of Scotland's young people for a prosperous economic future."

However, the Scottish Trades Union Congress sided with Professor Furlong. Its assistant secretary, Stephen Boyd, said: "The range and quality of labour market data available at Scottish level is insufficient to allow important questions to be answered. For instance, there is no decent information ever on the use of zero-hours contracts.

"Therefore, much of the debate, particularly Scotland's performance relative to other jurisdictions, is very poorly informed. Any work that seeks to fill these know­ledge gaps should be enthusiastically welcomed."